Human cells transport dehydroascorbic acid through facilitative glucose transporters, in
apparent contradiction with evidence indicating that vitamin C is present in human blood
only as ascorbic acid. On the other hand, activated host defense cells undergoing the
oxidative burst show increased vitamin C accumulation. We analyzed the role of the
oxidative burst and the glucose transporters on vitamin C recycling in an in vitro system
consisting of activated host-defense cells co-cultured with human cell lines and primary …